I Read Too Much

I'm not one who's normally in on all the new lingo used by society these days. However, having two teenage daughters I do get the opportunity to learn some, willingly or not.  I've been hesitant to write this post for some time now -  for no other reason than I simply don't have the vernacular to give it justice.  In case I haven't let on, life has kind of got me in the feels lately.   My family is hurting. I am hurting.  Not because of my family, but because of what someone is doing TO my family.  People, there is evil in this world.  There is evil that takes on the guise of "goodness".  It is evil wrapped up in selfishness and hatred and greed. It is evil that wants nothing more than to hurt another because of jealousy and spite. The hardest part of it is shielding those you love from the evil and not letting them see the hurt and pain you are going through because of it.  I need to be honest here. I have prayed unendingly for thi...

This morning I am reading in 1 Chronicles.  I am coming to the end of the book and we have King David turning the work of the temple over to his son, Solomon.  While the Lord had given David all of the instructions, down to the smallest detail, David was not to build the temple because he was "a warrior and have shed blood." (vs 28:3b) A few verses later David tells his son, " acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever." (vs 28:9) Let's stop there for a minute. I don't know about you but I am equally humbled and thankful God searches my heart and understands every desire and every thought I have. Really!  This means I am NOT invisible to Him.  He knows every single detail about me.  He knows the things I love the most and He ...

This morning I am reading in 2 Kings. I need to be honest, these are hard books to read. The names!  Oh, my stars the names.  Not only the names but how close they all are and how the kings overlap each other.  People, these 2 books are full of joy, pride, anger, hate, plot twists, love, encouragement, fear, great military acumen, business deals, essentially you name it, these two books have it.  I have read the words and shook my head as well as cried happy tears of God's great love.  These aren't a fast read.  It's definitely taken me a minute, but I recommend them to you.  Now, to my point! Think of two opposites.  Like the ends of a battery, the poles of the Earth, light and dark, soft and hard. Ok.  You get the picture. What I read this morning was exactly like that.  I began reading in chapter 21 about King Manasseh.  It didn't take me long to realize this guy was awful.  He was pure evil.  In fact, the modern-day ...

It's been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.  I need to be honest here.  I doubt my ability to teach.  But more than that, I doubt it is a dream that will ever come true. Hear me out on this. In the past few days, life has had its way with me.  It has been one curve ball after another and one anxiety-laden situation after another. I have shed many tears, questioned my existence and purpose, and even thought, in many ways, how I wish I was someone else.  Granted, the latter would not have prevented the former from happening; it would have just changed the situation.  I digress. In the past, I have shared about spiritual gifts.  I have even been so bold as to share what mine are. In the past year, I have run a million miles per hour headlong into achieving my gifts, of doing or becoming what they say of me. I've failed to succeed. In that failure, I have gained an extreme lev...

A few weeks ago I shared that I was starting another blog.  One based on my favorite subject and the one I would most like to teach - Personal Finance.  Well, I did!  I would love it if you would click on over and take a look-see at the information shared.  Let me know your thoughts. https://wheretherealnumbersare.blogspot.com/ For those who have asked.  No, I am not giving up on my pursuit of teaching in an academic setting.  I am currently tailoring my resume (at the advice of a friend who is an Adjunct) to the exact subject I want to teach.  As contradictory as that sounds to my favorite subject (ahem....what I linked above), I am leaning towards Business Communications.  Why?  Because, I have spent numerous years being the written and spoken voice for the companies I have worked for and enjoy the nuances of language and the cadence that comes from a well-articulated conversation and argument. If you know of open positions at any uni...

I watched a video a little while ago.  This mere days after reading a quote. I had a conversation with someone only yesterday.  What do all of these have in common?  On their face, they were ideas had by others.  Deeper, they all built upon a simple truth.  Bare with me as I put these all together. The video was of  Lou Holtz giving a commencement speech, you may have seen it.  He said, "Never tell your problems to anyone.  20 % don't care and the other 80% are glad you have them."  The quote was by A.W. Tozer.  He said, "We are not to look or act like other people; rather we are to look like Christ. We are to do the things Christ would do in the power and the demonstration of the Holy Spirit." The conversation yesterday consisted of living life focused on God and becoming who He designed you to be. You may be wondering how all of these fit together.  Honestly, I didn't see it at first either.  In fact, it was only this mor...

I got to thinking recently about church.  My church.  The church. And what church is.  I've been struggling with what makes a good church, what makes a great church, and what my role in both are. I know this seems like a loaded topic.  In fact, the church, as a whole, has been lamb-basted for quite some time.  First, as a Christian, I can say with a firm level of certainty that there is no level of perfection this side of eternity.  There is no person who has all the right answers and there is no set of people who are doing it all the right way.  Knowing this, I've still been struggling lately with a few things concerning the church. My church is filled with people from all walks of life.  We have business owners, community leaders, blended families, traditional families, single-parent families, seniors, and young alike.  So what makes us any better or worse than anyone else?  The simple answer is, the people. Yes.  The broken-dow...